A vacant building in the city’s McKinley Hill Business District that once served the Tacoma Police Department could have a new owner.

Tacoma City Council is expected to vote next week on a resolution that would move Chuckals Office Products closer to purchasing the 26,000 square foot parcel and 6,500 square foot building, which is located at 3524 McKinley Avenue East and once served as the Sector Four Police Substation. A new substation opened in February 2010.

“If the building works for us, yes, we would move,” Chuckals Office Products President Al Lynden told the Tacoma Daily Index on Monday. “We like that location for a couple reasons. It’s in an up-and-coming neighborhood and we want to invest in a neighborhood that’s going to grow. Number two, it’s close to downtown. All in all, it looks like a good building.”

According to Lynden, Chuckals Office Products currently leases its space at 2209 Pacific Avenue (Suite B). If city council adopts the resolution, it would mean the city accepts Lynden’s offer of $285,000 to purchase the building, according to Lynden. It would also allow Lynden to complete the due diligence on the property before a final decision is made. If the purchase is completed, Lynden expects to complete some remodeling and move to the new location in about six months.

“As with any business, you one day hope to own your own building,” said Lynden. “We saw that building for sale, took a cursory look at it, and put an offer in.

“Business is great, and that affords us this opportunity,” added Lynden.

Chuckals Office Products, a business-to-business office supply company, has been in downtown Tacoma for nearly 20 years. It currently employs 17 people. In March, the company announced it had reached an agreement with the U. S. General Services Administration to extend the terms of its contract to sell office products to federal government agencies through April 2018. The company has also been a strong community advocate, hosting holiday toy drives and charity golf tournaments. In August, the company held its sixth annual golf tournament and raised nearly $20,000 for local charities.

Tacoma City Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the issue during its meeting on Tues., Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers, first floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market St., in Tacoma. The meeting will be aired live on tvtacoma.com.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Chuckals Office Products, click on the following links:

• Tacoma’s Chuckals Office Products charity golf tournament raises $20K (Tacoma Daily Index, August 19, 2013)
• Downtown Tacoma’s Chuckals Office Products extends GSA contract (Tacoma Daily Index, March 27, 2013)
• Downtown Tacoma’s Chuckals, Pierce County partner for office supply needs (Tacoma Daily Index, January 31, 2011)
• Achievements, support highlight Goodwill breakfast (Tacoma Daily Index, May 5, 2004)
• Chuckals selected for Army’s Blanket Purchase Agreement (Tacoma Daily Index, May 4, 2004)
• Stroud Auto Center, Chuckals Office Products up for regional Better Business Bureau award (Tacoma Daily Index, January 22, 2002)
• Chuckals holiday toy drive under way (Tacoma Daily Index, November 21, 2001)
• Chuckals Office Products asking community to help with toys for children (Tacoma Daily Index, November 29, 2000)

Todd Matthews is editor of the Tacoma Daily Index and recipient of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Media from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for his work covering historic preservation in Tacoma and Pierce County. He has earned four awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including third-place honors for his feature article about the University of Washington’s Innocence Project; first-place honors for his feature article about Seattle’s bike messengers; third-place honors for his feature interview with Prison Legal News founder Paul Wright; and second-place honors for his feature article about whistle-blowers in Washington State. His work has also appeared in All About Jazz, City Arts Tacoma, Earshot Jazz, Homeland Security Today, Jazz Steps, Journal of the San Juans, Lynnwood-Mountlake Terrace Enterprise, Prison Legal News, Rain Taxi, Real Change, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle magazine, Tablet, Washington CEO, Washington Law & Politics, and Washington Free Press. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications. His journalism is collected online at wahmee.com.